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Syria moves chemical weapons for safety reasons

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said on Friday that the government of Syria has moved some of its chemical munitions to secure the weapons as the country fights rebel forces.

Panetta spoke on the subject at a Pentagon news conference and said that while there has been limited movement, the major weapons sites remain in place. He said the sites were still securely protected by the Syrian military, BBC reports.

"We continue to have a concern about the security of the (chemical and biological weapons) sites," Panetta said, according to BBC. "There has been some intelligence that with regards to some of these sites that there has been some movement in order for the Syrians to better secure... the chemicals."

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Syria that the country would be held accountable if it uses the weapons. Syria is thought to possess sarin and mustard gas that can be delivered by ballistic missile, aircraft and artillery rockets.

There is no evidence that the Syrian government has used the chemical munitions at all during the conflict, according to BBC.

Current attacks in the conflict are raging in Aleppo, in what rebel forces are calling a decisive battle. Activists and residents have described the battles as unprecedented with rebels fighting government positions on multiple fronts.